The Snow on the Ground
by queenie154
Summary: Katniss knew Peeta before the reaping.What if only one of them is reaped? Will be M rated in chapters to come!
1. Chapter 1

Katniss glanced around her,checking to make sure his witch of a mother wasn't in the bakery kitchen before she carefully knocked three times on the back was Christmas time in District 12 and the merchants were all hustle and bustle,flitting from shop to shop,sorting out last minute preperations before the big was the busiest time of year for the merchants that owned shops,not to mention Katniss' busiest time of year as the merchants had a little spare cash to treat themselves to a squirrel,or a bird that survived the harsh sometimes felt pity on these small creatures,surviving the winter against all odds,only to be pierced through the eye by one of her arrows.

She began to shiver,wondering whatever was taking Peeta so long to answer the door must be important as normally she hadn't time to finish her knock before the door swung open and she was ushered rubbed her hands together as her teeth began to chatter and she rested her forehead against the freezing steel of the of snow began to flutter down and she had just reluctantly turned to walk away from the bakery in defeat when the door was flung open.

She turned around and grinned at Peeta's look of had been days since she had seen snow had been falling too heavily for a couple of weeks and since it was so close to Christmas,the school decided to give up and officially declare the midterm was hard enough to get seam children out of bed and into school,let alone when there was snow seeping through the holes in their shoes,causing them discomfort all course,Peeta's mother took advantage of this so instead of an early Christmas break,Peeta got more shifts in the bakery meaning he was working the morning shift as always and then went straight into the afternoon understood that the bakery was busy and needed him to work but she couldn't comprehend how it was always left on Peeta to do,and never his two older brothers,Jace and Phil.

However,she managed to forget about that when Peeta bounded up to where she was standing,flour still speckled on his cheeks and his apron clutched in his obviously barely had enough time to take it off before he was rushing to answer the door. He gathered her in his arms and pressed a kiss firmly against her hair,which was tied back in her usual ,Peeta made her untie it so he could run his fingers through could never understand his facination with her hair,but then again,there were occasionally times when she longed to just ruffle his usually tidy,combed back blonde tucked her nose into the crook of his neck,soaking in the aroma of sugar and cinnamon which always seemed to radiate from his clear,pale skin.

"I was hoping it was you" he murmured against her hair,hugging her tighter.

"So you have many teenage girls calling at the back door of the bakery looking for you?" Katniss teased.

"Just a couple"

"Okay then,as long as it's no more that three,I need to have limits to how many girls my best friend has in his life."

"You know there's only you" he whispered.

Katniss could tell their joking had taken on a new had known Peeta for years,since they were little remembered immediately being taken with the friendly wide blue eyes of the little was sometimes hard to believe that the once little boy is now towering over 's not overly tall but as much as Katniss hated to admit it,she was than small,she was spent her whole childhood giving all the food she had to her younger sister,Prim,that she guessed her own height had been constantly teased her about it but she knew he was only joking and didn't mean to offend ,she knew all too right that the merchants from the school did mean to offend her as as much as she hated to admit it,it bothered wasn't only small,she was friends like Madge,the mayor's daughter,who was all curves in all the right places,one could not afford to be had virtually no breasts and although she pretended she didn't mind,at sixteen years old,all Katniss wanted was to fit didn't want to be friends with the cruel merchants,who watch their seam classmates wither away with hunger every winter,but she did want to blend in and not attract attention,which was sometimes hard to accomplish.

She remembered all too well a couple of weeks ago where she completely panicked and was worrying constantly that Peeta would hate her and refuse to speak to her anymore.

It was early in the morning,Katniss had called at the bakery to walk with Peeta to had been acting nervous and wouldn't quite meet her eyes.

"Is it your mother again?"Katniss inquired.

Peeta didn't answer.

"Peeta,tell me the truth,has she done something?If she has,don't you dare listen to her,you and I both know she has severe issues and she doesn't deserve a son as good and kind as you"

Peeta breathed out slowly and said quietly,

"She didn't do anything."

Katniss's brow furrowed in wasn't was a cheerful,optimistic wasn't silent and forlorn. She closed her eyes for just a second,her hands reaching up to rub her temple when she felt a pair of soft lips press gently against her eyes fluttered open in disbelief,her headache forgotton,as she stared at Peeta in had he been thinking?Did he mean anything by his kiss?

"Katniss,I'm sorry" he stammered.

Katniss looked away in course he didn't mean anything by it,he was upset and he had made the embarassing mistake of kissing wouldn't willingly kiss her if there wasn't something course was merchant and she was if he wanted her...NO! He doesn't want her and she's just making a fool of herself staring at him,her mouth still hanging open in closed it quickly and stepped back.

"I have to go" she whispered.

Peeta was staring at the ground,as if he wished a hole in the ground would magically open up and swallow him whole.

Katniss turned on her heel and began to run back in the direction of the Seam,forgetting completely about was surprised to see her mother out of bed and cleaning at home,for once she was slightly disappointed that her mother was making an effort as she had to make as excuse and say she was sick and not going to her excuse wasn't a truly felt sick at Peeta's kept replaying the words he said after their kiss and she rested her head against her pillow in her bedroom as a tear leaked out of her right had to stop Everdeen hadn't cried since her father was she just kept hearing those words.

"Katniss,I'm sorry"

"Katniss,I'm sorry"

"sorry"

Katniss hadn't seen Peeta for days after had called around about a week later to her shack in the Seam,smilling hesitantly at her as he handed over a bundle of dandylions tied around the stalk with a ribbon.

"I hope you didn't buy these" she had told him,hating the thought of him giving his hard earned money to the stuck up florist,Mrs had always hated Seam children with a passion,and used to screech profanities at poor,sweet,innocent Prim,for walking past her shop window and glancing in awe at the vibrant colors of the didn't take Katniss long to glare back and threaten her with her bow that her father had bestowed upon her before he took his last breath in those wretched Davis never spoke to Prim again but that didn't stop her from causing other young Seam children to cry for doing the same as Prim,admiring the flowers,which made Katniss's blood boil in anger.

Peeta had reassured her that no,he did not buy anything from that old biddy,and he had felt she would prefer flowers from their meadow,the same one they had been visiting for had felt a rush of warmth from how well he knew her.

Although that was weeks ago,there was still a slight tension between the both of rubbed her shoulders and frowned at how cold she was.

"Where are those gloves and scarf that I gave you Katniss?" he asked her,looking at her in concern.

Katniss sighed.

"At home" she Katniss understood that Peeta was her best friend,and it is normal for friends to give each other gifts,she still saw expensive items such as gloves as charity and she desperately wished she could afford to get him something that would actually come in useful.

He took both her hands in his and rubbed them smiled up at him in gratitude and he reminded her to please remember to wear the gloves next time as the last thing he wanted was her to have to get her fingers amputated as a result of frostbite.

"Want to go to the meadow?" Peeta suggested.

"Are you allowed?" Katniss wondered in ,Peeta wasn't allowed to go anywhere with her as his mother had forbidden him from seeing her several times,but what Katniss really meant was if he was allowed a break from the bakery.

"I'm sure I'll get away with it just this once" Peeta said playfully.

He linked his large warm hand with her scrawny one was he pulled her along until they reached the meadow,on the outskirts of District 12. Although Katniss had brought Peeta into the woods with her before,his large thumping footsteps meant no animal would dare set foot in a fifty metre radius for the next week so usually they went to their meadow which was technically legal to go to as it was still inside the fence but for some reason,the meadow's only visitors were Katniss and hated to think that it was his fault Katniss wouldn't go outside the fence when she was with him but he also liked to think that the meadow was a sign of how much she cared for him as she had mentioned briefly before that her father used to take her to pick flowers when Prim was still a baby and her mother was kept busy minding her.

The meadow wasn't as pleasant as it normally was as it was covered in winter had killed the flowers that reached knee high in the summer,the the trees were also lbare,and not as beautiful as it usually was,in Katniss's ,Peeta liked the snow as it was a good excuse for him to offer Katniss his jacket,as there was nothing more he liked to see than his masculine jacket surround her feminine figure.

Peeta had been planning this moment for always knew how he felt about Katniss but he felt that sixteen was a good age to see if there was a chance that she reciprocated his ,randomly kissing her all those weeks ago was a bad wasn't supposed to go so was supposed to actually kiss him back but he suspected that she had been so overcome by surprise that she was reluctant to kiss him back. He knew it wasn't normal,how his heart swelled with happiness whenever Katniss was automatically smiled whenever he thought of her and he had recently started having dreams about her, dreams about things he shouldn't be thinking about and he hated himself for but he couldn't bring himself to stop indulging in his fantasies of harm was there in it really?

Peeta knew Katniss was pure as they technically Katniss had been his first kiss when they were only six years old, he has admittedly taken the odd girl that showed affection behind the slag heap. He didn't care for them,and he felt awful afterwards but he needed to have practice for was the girl of his dreams and he couldn't stand the thought of biting her tongue on their first kiss or squeezing her nipple too hard if she ever let him get that far. The thought of causing Katniss pain was unbearable on so many levels and he wouldn't allow it to happen if he could stop it by any means necessary.

Katniss was holding her palms to her mouth and breathing heavily,heating her hands.

"Remember when we came here when we were kids?"Peeta reminded her.

"Yep" Katniss ,substantial answers weren't her style.

"I think I'd like to take my kids here someday"Peeta looked over at Katniss staring at him with her eyebrows raised.

"Not anytime soon" he rushed on. "but someday,in years to come."

"Get past reaping age first"Katniss said wirily."Then worry about kids, they're certainly not a part of my plan."

Peeta looked at her in had heard this explanation several times,about how she didn't want kids, because of the reaping, and the hunger problem in the Seam and how it would be simply cruel to bring a baby into this had always wished she would change her mind but it looked like she would need more convincing.

"Well then they're not a part of my plan" he said,staring at his feet.

Katniss sighed in confusion.

"What do you mean Peeta? You literally just said you want to bring your children here?"

Peeta swallowed was it.

"I don't want children if they're not your children too" he took a deep breath.

"Katniss,I'm in love with you.I always have been and I always will be."

He watched her expression change from shock to an expression he didn't recognise.

The last thing he expected was Katniss to lunge towards him,her hands gripping his shoulders and pressing her lips to automatically reached for her waist to pull her closer to him and he couldn't help sweeping his tongue across her bottom lip,and he moaned when she opened her mouth slightly,granting him access to her right hand reached to stroke her braid as his tongue rubbed gently in a pattern with knew he would be replaying this moment in his head all day, and most likely in the shower that night. He was panting slightly as she pulled away.

"Bet you didn't expect that,Mellark"


	2. Chapter 2

"So what's up with you and Mellark?" Gale asked,glancing sideways at Katniss as he concentrated on his snares.

They were outside the fence,gathering food for their isn't only merchant families that can celebrate,Gale and Katniss always hunted a little more food for Christmas day,so they can eat until they feel like on Christmas,Gale's family will come to the Everdeen house and they will open their presents if they get any that eat early in the day so there is plenty of time in the afternoon for them to sing and tell jokes and and Gale's brother ,Rory have always got on like a house on fire and the only tension is when Peeta stops by after celebrating with his bothers Gale that they're friends-it always has.

Katniss met Gale when she was eleven years fathers had just died and Gale had offered to teach her to set gradually became friends and Gale's mother used to babysit Katniss' mother while Prim and Katniss went to school,as back then,you never knew what she would could have killed herself and taken the house down with her in a fire-they never knew and she couldn't be Hazelle hadn't helped them those days,both Prim and Katniss would have had to miss school which would have made Katniss even angrier because it's always been important to her that Prim gets a good education so she can be a healer as she's always wanted to wouldn't deny Prim anything.

However,as much as she valued Gale's friendship,and his mother's help,she didn't take kindly to his reaction when he first saw her bringing Peeta back to the is two years older than Peeta and Katniss,so she thinks he might have scared Peeta a bit,but not don't take kindly to discrimination,probably because she's suffered from it from merchants her whole life.

"Catnip,who the hell is this guy?"Gale exclaimed.

"Peeta"she replied didn't need an explanation for Peeta being at her house.

"My point is,why is he here?" Gale grimaces.

Katniss tilted my head to the side.

"He's my best friend" she said slowly.

Gale leans down so his mouth is at her is focusing hard on the fire,suddenly facinated by the oranges mixing with the reds and may be a fantastic artist but Katniss could tell he's just trying to distract himself while Gale insults him.

"Catnip"Gale whispers."He's merchant,in case you have failed to ,I hope you know as well as I do that the only reason he's here is to take advantage of a poor seam girl,tell him to leave now or I will"

Katniss didn't know what 'taking advantage of' meant and she doubted Peeta did she squared her shoulders and held her head straight.

"Gale,I'm sorry you feel that way but if you can't accept Peeta being here then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

Gale frowned at her in disappointment and stormed out the front door.

"Thanks" Peeta said,his cheeks red.

"Anytime"

And she meant it.

"Nothings up with me and Peeta"she replied,shrugging her shoulders.

"Really?"Gale said accusingly." Because it's all over the Hob that you and him are swapping spit on a regular basis!"

She bit her would that reach the Hob?They had only been affectionate in private places,nobody had been at her,expecting an answer.

"Well.."she paused. "I guess you could say that we're dating now."

Technically you could say had been kissing and touching and although Katniss literally had no experience, Peeta didn't seem to mind when she nervously but firmly held his cock between her two hands and doesn't tell Gale that looked like his eyes were about to burst out of his head.

"Dating! Is this a joke? Catnip, how many times do I have to tell you?He is merchant,you are seam! Why would a rich townie want a seam girl?What is the only thing you can offer him?" Gale yelled.

" . .that." she said each word abruptly.

Gale shook his head.

"Well, if you believe that,then jokes on you Catnip."

She was sitting on Peeta's bed later as she told him the exact was lying beside her,running his hand up and down her thigh as he listened intently and commented in the right places.

"It's just so unfair" she complained.

"I know Kat" he sighed."But at the end of the day, I want to be with you and you want to be with me and there is nothing Gale can do about 's just jealous,ignore him."

"Why would Gale be jealous?" she wondered.

Peeta looked at me in disbelief.

"C'mon Katniss,you can't say you don't know."

When she said nothing and just stared at him cluelessly,he ran his hand through his hair and down the side of his face.

"He likes you,Katniss. Think about it, he's hated me from the moment he's set eyes on me."

"But Gale hates all merchants" she pointed out.

"Does he really,Kat?I mean,think about still sells his game to us,he goes out of his way to pick Madge Undersee her strawberries. That doesn't exactly scream hatred to if I'm in the bakery,he'll just stalk past,he refuses to sell to me,and why? Because he could always tell how I felt about you."

She considered supposed it made sense,when Peeta said more she thought about it,Gale doesn't ever insult 's nice to them so they will buy his game and unless they're rude to him,he has nothing against them. And Peeta has never been rude before,to anyone,let alone Gale! She thought of all the times Gale has stopped by only to look in disgust when he sees Peeta sitting on the couch or at her kitchen table.

"Don't worry about it,Gale won't stay mad knows that I'm not with you for sex,he pretends that he thinks I am, but he know I'm not. His ego has been hurt but it'll mend and he'll me."

She there's one thing she's good at, it's trusting Peeta.

She found she was trusting him more everyday that went by as he seemed determined to find out everything about realised lately that he had no idea whether she could cook and on the condition that she stayed quiet,his father said he could teach her to bake when his mother is out having her weekly tea party on a Sunday had been smiling from ear to ear when he told her the news,partly because he could continue his investigation,but also because Katniss had rarely been in his home before and he was excited to show her his natural habitat,baking. Obviously she had seen Peeta baking before-but it was always at her house with her tiny,occasionally faulty oven and her dark tesserae bread-none of the fluffy white bread that Peeta's father orders in from the Capitol.

Peeta had decided that he would teach her to make her favourite delicacy-cheese buns with extra couldn't understand her obsession with the found them tasteless and unappetising to look Katniss,her mouth watered at the sight of them and he often noticed her staring longingly at them on their porcelin tray in the bakery window.

Katniss was rolling the dough-and making a right mess of it-when Peeta's older brother Jace strolled into the eyes widened at the sight of his little brother's arms around a seam girl's waist as he laughed at her attempts to successfully roll the mouth gaped open as Katniss turned her head,still laughing,and Peeta captured her smiling lips with his own. Jace had nothing against seam girls,unlike his mother or Phil,who hated to admit it but he had once been turned down by Missy Taylors,a curvy girl with hair as black as soot from the mines she was raised had disapproved of Katniss since then and never failed to remind Peeta that Katniss was only there till the money ran out.

Jace however,had nothing against regularly joked with her when she came to the back door of the bakery and he enjoyed making her blush as he teased her about her friendship with his baby had never guessed that there was actually something going on.

"Peeta" he stammered out,watching in faint amusement as Peeta jumped away from Katniss as if she was diseased and Katniss' cheeks turned a shade of pink he had never encountered before.

Peeta sighed in relief.

"Jace,don't scare me like that.I thought you were Mother back early."

"Thanks,I guess I sound like Mother now" Jace his eyes widened."Bro,please tell me you have permission to use all that flour."

"Of course I do" Peeta reassured him. "I checked everything out with Dad."

"Thank god"Rye exclaimed. Then his tone changed."So..how long has this been going on?"

Peeta and Katniss glanced at each other,silently debating between them what to say.

"Define this" Peeta decided.

"Oh,you know" Jace taunted. "You and Kittycat going behind dearest mother's back,you must think I'm stupid Peet,I hear mysterious moans coming from behind the bakery at night."

Now it was Peeta's turn to go red.

"Emm...um..."

"Relax Peet,I never heard be careful,your answer just confirmed my suspicions.I'm glad I'm a heavy sleeper."

"Go away Jace" Katniss said,now holding her face in her hands.

"Fair enough" Jace chuckled. "Make sure you use a condom,little bro."

"Jace!" both Katniss and Peeta exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaniss trudged slowly towards town that day,holding Prim's hand heat was sweltering and although Prim was complaining about the sweat holding Katniss' hand was creating-Katniss couldn't give a all she knew she could be reaped that off in a fancy train to be spoiled in the Capitol,only to be forced to fight to the death days was sick,Katniss hated watching it every year,but every year when she walked into her home from being in the woods or in the meadow with Peeta,there was always a good chance that somebody in her home was watching was shocked to hear that Prim enjoyed watching the Hunger Games.

"You what?" Katniss exclaimed,fury in her the Capitol actually succeeded in brainwashing her little sister?Surely Prim wasn't that gullible!

"Not the way you think"Prim reassured visibly relaxed. " I just think it's a good way to say goodbye to the person who's about to die.I mean,think of it,as soon as our male and female tribute dies this year,we'll never hear about them only people that will remember those poor children will be their next year,two more tributes will die and everybody will forget about them so ,in a way,watching the games is simply looking for something to remember them by,even if I didn't know them personally,most of the time,someone from district 12 will do something heroic or brave which will help people remember them after their death."

Katniss had to admit,she was impressed by Prim's had never looked at the Games from that point of view,she had always associated the Games with twisted people watching children die for their still would dread watching the games,but she can understand why Prim enjoys it.

But for some reason,even with Prim's speech,Katniss' thoughts still drifted towards bloodthirsty Capitol citizens whenever she heard the words 'viewers of the Hunger Games.'

Katniss reached the other children,her mother wandering off to stand with the other parents as Katniss lined up with Prim to sign was Prim's first year and although Prim put on a strong face,Katniss knew she was secretly wasn't overly afraid from Prim this year,one slip in the reaping bowl and no couldn't even get better than the merchants,whom were barely picked,unlike the seam children,such as her and Gale,who had been forced over the years to take out tesserae to feed their starving families.

Once they had signed in with the snobbish Capitol woman in her plain white suit and looped sparkly earrings,who probably wanted to visit a better District than District 12 which always,no matter how clean,had a layer of grime on everything from the hugged Prim tightly,whispering a quiet "good luck,little duck" in her ear which caused Prim to giggle at the rhyme and Katniss to feel a little better about how Prim must be sent Prim down towards the back with all then other twelve year olds,all seeming nervous with fear radiating off them. Katniss headed towards the middle of the large saw Gale in the front row,as he was eighteen and as everybody knew,oldest in the front,youngest in the back.

Katniss shifted nervously on her feet,not quite sure what to were still lots of people waiting to sign in and she had nobody to talk looked around hopefully,looking for Madge Undersee,her only female friend,but unluckily,Madge was nowhere to be probably getting dressed in her pre-ordered silk dress from the Madge would want to dress like the women in the Capitol,Katniss couldn't fantom.

"Katniss" somebody hissed.

Katniss kept her head down.

"Kat" the mysterious person hissed again,a bit louder the second time.

Katniss couldn't stop herself from smiling,even with the one person called her,or rather was allowed to call her 'Kat'.She turned her head to the side,meeting the sky blue eyes of one Peeta Mellark.

"You okay?"he mouthed to her,from across the and girls stood three feet needed to be room for the fortunate children to make their way to the shabby stage to begin their journey as District 12 Tribute.

Katniss shook her head and smiled knew she was saying 'Not really to be honest.I'm worried about Prim.'

Peeta was the youngest in his family but he still feared for his doubted his brothers feared for him,being too selfish to care less about the fate of their younger brother and only about wasn't their fault,but they were the biological childen of Moira simply got lucky,he took after his kind knew Peeta's father brought food to the tributes families every year on the always demanded to know where he was going,but on one day every year, was defiant and refused to tell her where he was going,knowing that she would ban him from leaving and wasting precious food that they can't afford.

Effie Trinket wobbled out on stage,wearing ridiculous high heeled shoes,Katniss reckoned they were at least six inches pink hair was in an elaborate style,twisting and turning at the ends,tied in a bow at the top of her could see Peeta out of the corner of her eye,rolling his eyes.

Every year was the same,everybody basically blanked out Effie,refusing to listen to the lies she delivered straight from the Capitol played a video,but the District 12 children stared at it without really seeing,their eyes glazing over as they purposly tried not to concentrate.

When Effie stumbled over to the Reaping bowl,everybody straightened fidgeting started,licking lips,scratching heads,shuffling from foot to dipped her hand in the reaping bowl,touching off a few slips of paper unintentionally before clasping a small strip of paper between her was the girls first,as repeated the same thing in her head over and over,hoping that maybe if she said it enough times,everything would be okay.

Please don't be Prim,please don't be Prim,please don't be Prim.

"Leevy Wilhorn" Effie drawled the same out,a smile spreading across her face in excitment.

Katniss' shoulders collapsed in relief,it wasn't Prim. She felt sorry for was a seam girl,around fifteen,and had grown up with an abusive father who spent most of his tiny and money drinking illegally at the Sae cut him off from time to time for getting handsy with the other Katniss had a suspicion that Leevy got most of the trauma at home

"Leevy Wilhorn,sweetie,come to the stage and celebrate your achievment" Effie giggled in her obnoxious Capitol accent.

Leevy emerged from the crowd,a frown on her clothes hung loose on her,her eyes sunken into her head and Katniss' mouth gaped was very unusual for Seam people to lose weight in the warm summer air. Katniss had encountered Leevy from time to time,and she had never been this unhealthy.

"And now for the male tribute" Effie said,her hand once again dipping into the Reaping held her breath,thinking of how relieved her father would be that his two best girls had escaped another year of-

"Peeta Mellark."

Effie's words burst through Katniss' thoughts. Katniss started to hyperventilate,how could it be Peeta?Her precious,kind,sweet looked at his brothers standing nearer to the front,begging,no pleading with them silently to please avoided her eyes and exchanged a look between saw immediately they were too cowardly to volunteer for their brother,who loved them unconditionally,although they didn't deserve it.

Her eyes shot to Peeta who looked like he had stopped was shaking slightly as he stepped out into the division to walk towards the stage,hazily,as if he was having a nightmare and if he walked slowly,he could wake up before he reached the stage.

"No!" Katniss eye's darted to her,including Peeta's as he stepped onto the stage.

"You can't" she begged,teams streaming from her locked eyes with Gale and before Katniss knew it,Gale was dragging her away from the put up a fight,kicking and screming and making a scene.

"Capnip,shut the hell up,you're pissing off the peacekeepers" Gale whispered in her ear.

"I don't care" Katniss screeched,collapsing on the ground. "How could this happen?"she cried,beating the dusty ground with her fists.

"How could this happen?"she repeated,over and over again,till her voice eventually became worn out and she was mouthing the words.


	4. Chapter 4

She gazed at the screen blankly in her damp living room as Caeser Flickerman announced this years tributes from each saw every one of them as a threat to the curly haired girl from eleven who reminded her so much of Prim because of her couldn't even imagine what it would be liked to be reaped at the tender age of winced at the large older boy from One who volunteered,as they do in the career smiled when he stood up onto the stage,as everybody around him cheered as they encouraged their newest tribute. Katniss tried to keep her emotions under control as they showed the reaping in District was faintly consoled by the fact that they showed her little preformance-she wanted everybody to know what Peeta was leaving behind and how it was not an honour to be reaped.

"You feeling a little better,Katniss?"Prim asked her,holding the back of her hand to Katniss' forehead. "I think your temperature has gone down,at least."

Katniss didn't doubt that she was .She missed Peeta more than she could believe and she couldn't even stand the thought that she might never see him again.

She had to shut her eyes when Caeser showed the Capitol trains holding the tributes pulling up in the station with Peacekeepers actually having to restrain citizens of the Capitol from breaking into the train to see the couldn't understand less than a few weeks,most of them would be .All but knew they placed bets on who would emerge as victor but Katniss didn't understand the attraction. Why waste precious money on a gamble? Then again,Capitol people would never know the feeling of trying to sleep on an empty stomach.

Peeta was staring at Haymitch,as he shovelled mince pies into his greedy mouth. Leevy had retreated to her bedroom,claiming she wanted a shower and some clean clothes,but Peeta suspected she was going to have a would be the only chance she would get as crying in front of other tributes or citizens of the Capitol would mean you would be seen as weak and had made it pretty clear that if they wanted a fighting chance,they had to appear as strong. Peeta had already decided he would do whatever it took to get back to knew she needed him and he already longed to see her.

"Is this the only time of year they feed you?"Peeta inquired,feeling slightly disgusted as Haymitch continued to chew with his mouth wide eating two of the mince pies,Peeta had to stop eating,feeling too full for once in his answered by giving him a dirty look.

"The only thing you should be asking me about,is how to stay alive."

"So how do I stay alive?"Peeta said,taken aback when Haymitch started to laugh.

"Beats my if I know"he chortles.

Peeta felt anger rise in him at Haymitch's was all well and good for him,it was not him who was entering the arena and being forced to kill, it was Peeta and he didn't appreciate the humour directed at grasped the knife that was placed strategically beside his china plate and drove it into the mahogany table,right beside Haymitch's wrist.

"That's very funny" he growled. "Only not to me."

Now it was Haymitch's turn to be taken had immediately assumed Peeta was a softie,incapable of harming people,therefore useless to him and District 12 when he was in the girl wasn't much better but Haymitch rarely had high hopes for his District winning.

"If looks like you want to win this thing" Haymitch observed,studying Peeta in a different was sturdy,tall enough,looked are aspects to him that could come in useful in the girls would go crazy for that curly hair and angelic fact,he bet ever girl would go crazy for that curly hair and angelic face.

"Got a girl at home?" he inquired.

Peeta hung his head,the last thing he wanted to do was to drag Katniss into this mess.

"Well?" Haymitch persisted.

"Yeah" Peeta gave the information reluctantly.

"Name?"

"Everdeen."

"Jame's kid?" Haymitch asked had known the man well,having grown up with him in the Seam and had stood quietly at the back of the funeral with a bottle of vodka as the blonde haired child clung to her bleak mother and the older child,with the jet black hair and fiery eyes had stood away from her mother,away from everyone,and just stared into the woods behind had no doubt that she was talented with a bow,he heard those in the town talking about the meat she sells ,that girl would have been good in the said the last part out loud,and is unprepared for when Peeta grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the pristine white wall.

"Never say that" Peeta warns him."The only comfort I have is knowing Katniss is safe."

He released the collar and walked away in fury.

It was the day of the interviews and Katniss was focusing on the television,Gale sitting beside her. She was silent as each tribute came on stage to flirt and chat and brag to the blue haired Caeser Flickerman but Gale was vocal in his observations.

"He looks dangerous."

"Sneaky,that girl from seven."

"She's surely not twelve,she looks about ten!"

When Leevy came on stage with a yellow dress that seemed to beam outwards like sunlight,Katniss was in disbelief at the literally looked like a different had gained so much weight in the space of a few weeks and filled out her dress naturally lank hair was now curled in ringlets extending down her voiced his once again,remained silent.

When Peeta came on stage,Gale shut up,knowing this was the one Katniss wanted to see." He had watched Peeta in the chariot,with flames flying out behind him and noticed how Katniss refused to Peeta got an 8 in the Capitol's inspection with the Gamemaker,Gale was dying to know how he achieved such a score but Katniss refused to relent and tell him Peeta's seemingly secret ,how many skills could one achieve from working in a bakery?

Peeta was calm on stage,making jokes with Caeser,making the audience watches the audience's mouths gape open when Peeta leans over to smell was Katniss's turn for her mouth to gape open when her name was mentioned.

"So,a little birdy,tells me you have a girl at home,Katniss the name might have been?"

Peeta falters slightly but recovers quickly.

"Em..yes?"

The audience laugh at Peeta's shyness.

"So,is it serious?"Caeser questions.

"I guess you could say that" Peeta laughs nervously.

"So Peeta,would you say Katniss is watching tonight?"

"I'd say so. But Katniss can be..unpredictable."

"Well,if Katniss is watching,what would be the last thing you'd like to tell her before you go into the arena?"

Peeta squared his shoulders,looked directly into the camera before dropping his bombshell.

"Katniss, I want you to know that I can,and will win this and get back to care of my baby."

The camera blacked out in District 12 as Katniss raised her hands to her face in despair and Gale turned to her demanding an answer.


End file.
